Woman weds twin’s convicted killer

Edith Casas leaves the courthouse after getting married to the man convicted of killing her twin sister in Pico Truncado, Argentina.

Buenos Aires, Argentina -

This was a Valentine's Day wedding that the bride's family wanted no part of: An Argentine woman married the man convicted of killing her twin sister.

Neighbours were against it as well. A mob gathered outside the civil registry office where Thursday's wedding took place, throwing stones and eggs.

The bride, 23-year-old Edith Casas, says Victor Cingolani is innocent of killing her twin sister Johana more than two years ago, despite his conviction and 13-year prison sentence. The groom says he is innocent and will be absolved on appeal.

They both want to have children but that will have to wait. Cingolani, 28, was taken back to prison in handcuffs immediately after the nuptials. Edith Casas waited for hours until the crowd dispersed and it was safe to leave.

The bride's mother thinks she's crazy and sought to block the wedding, but a judge found her capable of making her own decisions.

The body of Johana Casas was found in a field in the town of Pico Truncado in southern Santa Cruz province in 2010 with two gunshots in the chest.

Police detained Cingolani, who was Johana's former boyfriend, and Marcos Diaz, a neighbour who was believed to have been her boyfriend at the time of her death. Police later released Diaz, citing a lack of evidence against him.

Cingolani told local station Todo Noticias that his relationship with Edith began after he broke up with Johana, and that he had nothing to do with her death. “All the evidence points to another person.”

The mother of the twins, Marcelina del Carmen Orellana, said on Thursday that she couldn't understand her daughter's decision.

“I've always said that she is threatened by the Cingolani family; I'm afraid that something might happen to her because he is a killer and a manipulator,” she told local media. - Sapa-AP